Oracle names ex-HP CEO Mark Hurd co-president

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2006 file photo shows then, Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd gestures during a keynote address at the Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco. Oracle Corp. has hired former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd to help lead the database software maker in a pivotal moment in Oracle's 33-year history as it tries to muscle in on more of HP's turf Monday, Sept. 6, 2010.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
— AP

FILE - In this Oct. 24, 2006 file photo shows then, Hewlett Packard CEO Mark Hurd gestures during a keynote address at the Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco. Oracle Corp. has hired former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd to help lead the database software maker in a pivotal moment in Oracle's 33-year history as it tries to muscle in on more of HP's turf Monday, Sept. 6, 2010.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
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Oracle has been on a $40 billion buying binge since 2004, scooping up companies in other parts of the business software market, and with the $7.4 billion deal for Sun last year, Oracle became a direct competitor to HP in computing hardware - specifically, servers.

Hurd presided over a similarly massive makeover at HP, where he engineered more than $20 billion in acquisitions. Those deals helped HP become less tethered to printer ink as the source of the bulk of its profits. HP is now a player in technology services - where it's battling IBM Corp. - and computer networking - where it's taking on Cisco Systems Inc., which is also now making its own servers and challenging HP in that market.

Hurd is known as an extreme cost-cutter. HP announced about 50,000 job cuts during his tenure.

Ellison has said the HP board's decision to publicly disclose the harassment claim against Hurd amounted to "cowardly corporate political correctness," as the board had found that Hurd didn't violate the company's sexual harassment policies.

HP has emphasized that its board voted unanimously for Hurd's resignation.

She claimed that her work helping organize HP events dried up after she rebuffed Hurd's advances.

Hurd, 53, who is married with two children, denies making any advances on Fisher. Hurd also insists he didn't prepare his own expenses and didn't try to conceal his outings with Fisher, which often included dinner after the events Fisher helped organize and that Hurd attended.